News
Better Than Reality Awards – VRFocus
VRFocus has opened up voting for their 2020 awards and this year I have a few favs that are on the list. I don't want to influence your vote by saying who those are, so vote for what company, game, influencer, and gear you think should take the prize. Voting closes on December 13th slightly before midnight (EDT).
Fires Around West Coast Of The United States – 360Cities – Panoramic Photography Blog
Another often overlooked use for VR video is in raising awareness through exposure. For example, the west cost wild fires of 2020 spanned hundreds of miles of wiped out forests and parts of cities, but being able to see a forest after it's burned or the fire aftermath in Oregon in VR adds to the impact of the devastation of property and wilderness that watching a video cannot alone. The community has helped document more than just travel destinations and attractions, and are definitely worth checking out to see other world events that they have shared in VR.
Experiences
Stock 360° Panoramic Images and Videos for VR and More | 360Cities
360cities is more than just a platform for documenting news, and also contains over 3600 destination and attraction experiences as well. Some of them can even be licensed for commercial and educational use outside the website.
Tilt Brush by Google
Google's Tilt Brush lets users create their own virtual spaces for others to view and explore. It's something I first tried a VR arcade and it blew my mind how much you could do with the tool. With support for just about every major head mounted unit (Vive, Oculus, PlayStation VR, Valve, etc), Tilt Brush does another thing that I find interesting in their artist in residence program to team up and support with artists on the platform.
Health
Virtual Reality Institute of Health and Exercise – Assessing the impact of exercising in virtual experiences on the human body.
If you've played a immersive game and felt like you'd just completed a workout you're not alone, and the people at the Virtual Reality Institute of Health and Exercise have been researching what games and experiences burn enough calories to be classified as an intense workout. Besides providing a classification for how many calories a game burns, check out their iOS and Android to also make use of their calorie counter and recommendations.
Gear
Rokid Glass 2 - Rokid
Chinese start-up Rokid released the next version of their already popular Mixed Reality glasses. Inspired by world events they now feature a temperature sensor that can capture 200 individuals at once, voice control, and a host of other useful features. Still limited to less than 40 degrees of view within one lens, hopefully future releases and updates will broaden the FOV and usefulness of this headset.
Inspiration
Poly - Explore Tile Brush 3D Worlds
Speaking of Tilt Brush, the best place to see some of the best curated examples of what artists are currently doing on the platform is Poly. The various art styles, animations, and creativity on display are truly amazing.
Commentary
This week we've added a new Health category to highlight stories and features that are beyond the research phase and are directly related to health and well-being. And we're also continually tweaking our balance of what types of articles and links we feature. Including highlighting more international gear and news.
Thank you for subscribing and we hope you enjoy this week's interesting links. If you would like to suggest any for future issues then please tweet me with suggestions or reply to this mail.
Other Realities